Heart Attack Treatments

One of the most important aspects of treating myocardial
infarction (heart attack) is speed. The faster you act to get help and
treatment, the better your chances for survival and a full recovery. If you or someone you are with is
experiencing heart attack symptoms, call 911 immediately.

Goals of
Emergency Treatment

Emergency personnel are trained to provide treatments even before
a heart attack is diagnosed. These treatments include:

oxygen therapy

aspirin

nitroglycerin

The goals of these
treatments include:

stabilizing the heartbeat

preventing more clotting

easing chest pain

Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) may be used to jolt your
heart back into a normal rhythm. Morphine, oxygen, aspirin, and nitroglycerin
are often used in the first 30 minutes following the start of heart attack
symptoms to prevent more clotting and to treat pain.

Treatment After
the Attack

Treatment will depend on how severe your heart attack is. There
are many different kinds of heart attack treatments. These include medications,
interventional procedures, and surgery.

Medication is usually the first treatment option. Other procedures
may follow depending on the nature of the heart attack.

Medications to
Treat Heart Attack

Medications can be an effective tool in treating a heart attack
and preventing future attacks. The most commonly used medications for treatment
of heart attack include the following.

Thrombolytic
Medicines (Clot Busters)

Thrombolytic medicine is most effective if given within three
hours of a heart attack. It’s beneficial if administered within 12 hours. It’s
injected into the blood intravenously (IV). The medicine dissolves blood clots
so blood can flow through the coronary artery again.

The standard thrombolytic medicines used are known as tissue
plasminogen activators (tPA). These include:

alteplase (Activase)

anistreplase (Eminase)

streptokinase (Streptase)

urokinase (Abbokinase)

These drugs are used in combination with other treatments,
and they can have adverse side affects like bleeding or hemorrhagic stroke. If
blood flow does not return to normal, additional treatments or surgery may be
required.

Beta Blockers

Beta blockers are a class of medications used to treat high blood
pressure as well as other diseases and conditions. These medicines make it
easier for your heart to do its job by blocking the effects of adrenaline and
slowing the heart rate and the decreasing the force of heart muscle
contradiction (i.e. the work the heart has to do). Beta blockers are used to
relieve chest pain after heart attack. Some examples of beta blockers used to
relieve chest pain in post–heart attack patients include:

atenolol (Tenormin)

propranolol (Inderal)

metoprolol (Lopressor)

ACE Inhibitors

Like beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
treat high blood pressure and other conditions. ACE inhibitors help relax and
widen the blood vessels by blocking the production of an enzyme that causes the
vessels to narrow. ACE inhibitors can improve blood flow, reduce strain on your
heart, and help heal heart muscle damage after a heart attack. Some examples of
ACE inhibitors include:

benazepril (Lotensin)

captopril (Capoten)

enalapril (Vasotec)

fosinopril (Monopril)

lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril)

moexipril (Univasc)

perindopril (Aceon)

quinapril (Accupril)

ramipril (Altace)

trandolapril (Mavik)

Anticoagulants

Anticoagulants reduce the risk of clotting in heart attack
patients. They are more commonly referred to as blood thinners. Examples of
anticoagulants include:

heparin

lepirudin (Refludan)

warfarin (Coumadin)

Antiplatelet
Agents

Aspirin is the most well
known type of antiplatelet medicine. These types of drugs prevent clotting in
the arteries by keeping platelets from sticking together. Antiplatelet agents
are typically used by people who have had a heart attack and are at risk for
additional clotting. Antiplatelet medications can also be used to treat people
with several risk factors for heart attack and with evident plaque buildup in
the arteries. Besides aspirin, antiplatelet agents include:

clopidogrel (Plavix)

ticlopidine (Ticlid)

eptafibitide (Integrilin)

Cholesterol-Lowering
Drugs

These
drugs lower cholesterol. They are
commonly prescribed drugs for people with high cholesterol who have never had a
heart attack. However some of them have
been shown to improve survival when administered soon after a heart attack.
These include:

statins (Lipitor)

niacin (vitamin B3)

fibrates (Trilipix, Lofibra,
Lopid)

bile acid sequestrants
(Questran, Welchol, Colestid)

Procedures to
Treat Heart Attack

Your
doctors will determine if you need more than medication to treat your heart
attack. The following procedures are commonly used.

Angioplasty and
Stent

Angioplasty is a procedure to open the coronary arteries and
restore blood flow to the heart. According to the National
Institutes of Health, more than 1 million people in the United States undergo
the procedure each year. During an angioplasty procedure, a small tube
(catheter) with a balloon on the tip is threaded into the arteries. This is
usually done through a vessel in the groin area or through an artery that
starts in the wrist. When the balloon is in position in a coronary artery with
a blockage, it’s expanded. It pushes plaque away, widens the artery, and allows
blood flow to return to the heart. Sometimes a small mesh tube called a stent
is placed into the artery to support the artery walls and reduce the chance of
future narrowing or blockage.

Coronary Artery
Bypass Surgery or Grafting

Bypass surgery is another common and effective way to restore
blood flow to the heart after a serious heart attack. During the surgery,
arteries or veins from other parts of the body (grafts) are used to create
alternate routes for blood to flow around the blocked artery. The number of
grafts used depends on how many arteries are blocked. A triple-bypass surgery
is when three grafts are used to bypass three blocked areas in the coronary
arteries.